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From: mentifex@scn.org (SCN User)
Subject: Re: language development-infant
Message-ID: <E5CF0H.8tC@scn.org>
Sender: news@scn.org
Organization: Seattle Community Network
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 1997 15:57:53 GMT
Lines: 34


In follow-up, strianta@primenet.com (Spiros Triantafyllopoulos) says:

> Arthur T. Murray <ba672@lafn.org> wrote:
:                 Theory of Child Language Learning
:   /^^^^^^^^^^^\ (spiral of additions & deletions) /^^^^^^^^^^^\
:  /visual memory\           semantic ________     /  auditory   \
: |      /--------|-------\  memory  / syntax \   | speech stream |
: |      |  recog-|nition |          \________/<--|-------------\ |
: |   ___|___     |       |  flush-vector|        |    _______  | |
: |  /image  \    |     __|___        ___V___     |   /stored \ | |
: | / percept \   |    /deep  \<-----/lexical\<---|--/ phonemes\| |
: | \ engrams /<--|-->/concepts\--->/concepts \---|->\ of words/  |
: |  \_______/    |   \________/    \_________/   |   \_______/   |

> The flush vector is actually perfected after the third year when
> they potty train... :-) :-) :-)

With my B.A. degree in ancient Greek and Latin I could have devised
a fancier term based on the Greek verb "skedannumi" ("to scatter"),
but "flush" meaning "to chase from a place of concealment" is fine.

In this mind-model of how a baby learns language, a syntax-node for
nouns forces out or "flushes" out the most highly activated lexical
concept among all the nouns which have taken residence in the mind.

Then the focus of linguistic control loops (spirals) back around to
a verb node and the infant says "Train go" or "Bird fly" or "I go."

The same spiral loop which generates sentences permits the addition
of new elements in the syntactic tree, or the deletion of erroneous
speech-patterns used by the child in a transition to proper speech.

Thanks to:  any child psychologist who can help publish this model.
